Police say man claimed students made obscene gestures

Tarance Piper, 24, of Sanbornton was arrested after he allegedly took out a pellet gun and started shooting at buses with students on board right in front of the police station on Route 132, police said.

Piper told investigators that one of the students on a bus made an obscene gesture toward him when Piper’s car was next to the bus, police said.

“They were upset because some kids on the bus were making some gestures to them. That was upsetting to them,” said Chief Stephen Hankard of the Sanbornton Police Department. “So apparently they decided to correct the problem themselves."

Pellets dented the sides of the buses but did not break any windows or cause injuries. The bus drivers radioed for help and one pulled into the police station as the incident happened.

The Winnisquam Regional High School students were shaken up by the ordeal, officials said.

“The students on the bus did recognize it right away as an Airsoft gun,” Hankard said. “Obviously the panic (showed) the results could have been much worse had they thought it was a real firearm.”

The orange tip on the gun is a clear indicator it’s a pellet gun, police said.

The driver of the car was pulled over a short time after the incident. Piper was in the back seat. He was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal threatening. Thursday night at Piper’s home, a man who came outside said Piper was not there and had no comment.

The school transportation department and the superintendent’s office did not respond to requests for more information about the incident.

“Accidents could have resulted,” Hankard said. “Any number of catastrophic things could have happened because of this, because someone made a stupid decision and fired several pellets at this school bus. It could have been a catastrophic incident had it been taken the wrong way.”

Although Piper was the only person arrested, police said more charges could be filed.

Piper is free on personal recognizance and due in court Nov. 7.

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